IT ALL COMES FROM THE FATHER

READING: JOHN 5:24-30

Verse 30: “I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteousness, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent me.”

“The good Lord helps those who help themselves.” Most of us have heard that statement frequently. Many people are absolutely convinced the Bible says so. We know that what the Bible does tell us is very different, in fact almost the opposite. The words of Jesus that stand out in the verse quoted above are “I can of Myself do nothing...” As the perfect model for our Christian behavior and responses, Jesus established His need for the Father to be the source of all He expected to do. He had absolutely no trait of independence from the Father. With that established, in John 15:5 the words of the Lord Jesus are as follows, “...without Me you can do nothing.” He wants us to have the same dependency upon Him that He had upon God the Father. Certainly there are things we ourselves must do even as Jesus was active and vigorous. The Bible says if all He did were to be written, the world couldn’t contain the books that would be filled. We also are to be productive, but that ability to accomplish must come from the Lord. In reality what should be said is “God helps those who accept His Lordship.” That’s a thought – about God’s Word.

RESPONSE

1. Why do people want to believe that God helps those who help themselves?

2. Jesus said the Father sent Him. Has anyone else been sent by the Father?